Personal inflatable life guard



July 31, 1962 D. o. DAVIS ETAL PERSONAL INFLATABLE LIFE GUARD 2Sheets-Sheet: 1

Filed Oct. 15, 1959 FIGJ INVENTORS D. O. DAVIS L. 6.Mc6|LL ATT July 31,1962 o. o. DAVIS ETAL PERSONAL INFLATABLE LIFE GUARD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Oct. 15, 1959 m m w M E l G W V c 9 I m M G n l L F m Q7 T. AAAAAAis I I n a u n a I A I O f 1. l yin/ 1 9 m Uit rates 3,046,575 PERSONALMLATABLE LIFE GUARD Daniel 0. Davis, Wilmington, and Landon G. McGill,

St. Paul, N.C., assignors to Davis & McGill, incorporated, St. Paul,N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Oct. 15, 1959, Ser. No.846,673 Claims. (Cl. 9--316) mally are maintained in collapsed compactcondition but which can be quickly expanded and inflated to provide thenecessary buoyant support or life preserver.

Life preservers have been provided of various kinds and some of thesehave been mounted in locations where they are readily available topersons in the vicinity and others have been made to be attached to theperson or worn however these devices have been cumbersome, heavy,occupied too much space, were expensive and otherwise were unreliable orimpractical and were not readily usable by persons bathing, hunting,water ski ing or engaged in other activity where it was desirable tohave the arms and other portions of the body free.

It is an object of the invention to provide a simple inexpensivepersonal inflatable life guard or preserver which can be readilyattached to the wrist, against the chest, or in other location to thebody, can be maintained in a small container in collapsed form orcondition and which can be readily inflated to provide a buoyant supportor life preserver for the individual to whom the device is applied.

Another object of the invention is to provide a casing or housing havingan inflatable container held within the casing in a collapsed condition,such casing or housing being adapted to be attached to be detachablysecured to the person by a strap, belt, simple harness about theshoulders or the like so that the device will be at a convenientlocation so that it can be quickly filled or inflated and used as afloat.

A further object of the invention is to provide a personal lifepreserver in the form of a relatively small casing having an openingwith closure means therefor, normally biased toward closed position andwith a replaceable inflatable float-forming container of sheet materialattached and completely housed in collapsed condition within the casingand with means for inflating such floatforming container and forreturning the same to the housing when deflated.

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustrating one application of the invention;

FIG. 2, a similar view with the preserver inflated;

FIG. 3, a perspective of the container;

FIG. 4, a section on the line 4-4 of FIG. ,3;

FIG. 5, a section on the line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6, a view similar to FIG. 4 of a modified form of the invention;

FIG. 7, a fragmentary perspective of the device of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8, a fragmentary detailed section on the line 88 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9, a view similar to FIG. 4 of a further modified form of theinvention;

FIG. 10, a similar View of a still further modified form of theinvention; and

FIG. 11, a side elevation of the inflated container.

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Briefly stated the invention is alife preserver composed of an elasticbag or container attached to the interior of a protective casing orhousing having an opening with closure means therefor and with meanswhereby the container may be inflated and caused to move outwardlythrough said opening and when deflated, due to its elasticity, to returnto the interior of the casing. The protective housing or casing and thecontainer which is disposed within the same are relatively small andcompact so that the housing can be attached to the wrist, chest or otherpart of the human body and kept available for immediate use whenrequired but which will not interfere with the activity of theindividual such as swimming, diving, water skiing or the like. Theinflation of the container may be accomplished by means of a cartridgecontaining compressed gas or by the use of compressed gas and the devicemay have a suitable control for causing the inflation of the containercontained within the chamher or housing.

With continued reference to the drawings, a casing 10 is provided of astrong lightweight plastic or other substance of which the casing can bereadily produced, such casing having compartments 11 and 12 for thereception of an inflatable bag or container 13 and a compressed air orgas cartridge 14 respectively, such compressed air or gas being used forthe inflation of the bag 13.

The bag 13 has an externally threaded inlet tube 15 which serves thedual purpose of admitting air to and from the bag 13 and for anchoringthe bag within the casing 10, such externally threaded inlet tube being.received in a threaded socket 16 having an-opening 17 in communicationwith a tube 18 providing communication with the chamber 12 in which theair or gas cartridge 14 is located for the release of the contentsthereof.

The casing 10 is provided with an opening 19 in a pair of doors orclosure members 20' and 21 mounted by means of spring hinges 22 whichtend to bias the doors towards closed position so that when the bagisjinflated it will be caused to move outwardly from the casing throughthe doors.

The chamber 11 is generally rectangular with rounded corners while thechamber 12 is generally cylindrical with a shoulder 23 forming anabutment for a spring '24 which normally maintains the pierceabledischarge end 25 of the gas cartridge 14 out of contact with -a piercingpoint 26 fixed to the end wall of the chamber.

The end of the chamber opposite that of the piercing point 26 isprovided with an internally threaded opening 27 forcooperative-engagement by the externally threaded portion 28 of a plugor closure 29, a gasket 30 being provided for sealing the joint betweenthe plug and the casing. I

In order to move the cartridge 14 endwise to cause its end 25 to bepierced by the piercing point 26, the plug 28 is provided with anopening 31 in which is received a stem 32 having an enlarged head 33 forengagement with the cartridge 14 and with a reduced externally threadedouter end 34 for receiving an operating knob or button 35.

The remote sid of the head 33 from the cartridge 14 is adapted to engagethe inner wall of the plug 29 and in order to form a seal, a relativelyflat ring-type gasket 36 may be employed. Thus, pressure on the buttonwill move the cartridge and cause the discharge of its contents whichwill inflat the bag 13.

In order to mount the casing it is provided with one or more straps 37through which a belt 38 or the like may be received for fastening thedevice on the wrist or such strap may form a part of a separate harnessas illustrated in FIG. 1.

Instead of the casing disclosed in the earlier figures a the bag 13 anda compartment 42 for the air or gas 3 cartridge 14. The chamber 42 hasan internally threaded opening 43 for the reception of the externalthreads 44 of a plug 45 with a gasket 46 providing a seal between suchplug and the casing.

The chamber 42 has a partition 47 at one end with an opening 48 and agasket recess 48' in which is located a gasket 48". A pin 49 extendsthrough the opening 48, such pin having a piercing point 50 forpenetrating the end 25 of the cartridg 14.

A spring 51 has a large end engaging the partition 47 and a smaller endextending about the neck of the cartridge for maintaining the cartridgein endwise position within the chamber 42 so that it will not becontacted by the piercing point 50 until the piercing point is projectedendwise into contact with such end 25 of the cartridge.

The casing 40 is provided with a chamber 52; having internal threads 53for cooperation with a flange 56 which bears against the exteriorsurface of the casing.

The pin 49 is adapted to be projected into cartridge piercing positionby means of a spring 58 about the pin 49, such spring engaging a flangeor other abutment 49 fixed to the pin 49 and with the opposite end ofthe spring engaging the transverse wall of the sleeve 55, such wallhaving a transverse opening 55". The sleeve 55 is provided with a slot59 in which is received a flattened transverse portion 60 of a knurledmanipulating knob 60, such flattened portion being adapted to be setacross the slot in a pair of receiving depressions 59' until such timeas the compressed air or gas within the cartridge 14 is adapted to bereleased whereupon the knob 60 is pulled upwardly and rotated 90 topermit the transverse flattened portion 60' to pass downwardly in theslot 59 and whereupon the spring 58 will project the pin 49 downwardlyagainst the end 25 of the cartridge to pierc the same and release thecontents, thus permitting the gas to pass through an opening 40 and tube18' to the part 16 and through the tube 15 to inflate the bag 13.

In FIG. 9 is disclosed a modified type of the invention including acasing 60 having a compartment 61 for the bag 13 and a compartment 62for the cartridge 14, such compartment having a chamber 63 of reduceddiameter forming a shoulder 64 against which one end of a spring 65 isadapted to bear, the opposite end of the spring being adapted to bearagainst the cartridge 14.

The chamber 62 is provided at its opposite end with a threaded opening66 in which is received a screw plug 67 having a concave socket 68 inwhich the upper end of the cartridge 14 is received so that when theplug 67 is threaded into the opening 66 in the casing the cartridge 15will be moved endwise, a gasket 69 being provided for sealing againstleakage through the threads of the plug of the casing. A piercing point70 is mounted in the chamber 63 in a position to engage the dischargeend 25 of the cartridge.

From the chamber 63 a passage 71 and a tube '72 provide communicationwith the treaded socket 16 to which the inlet tube 15 of the bag 13 isadapted to be connected. In order to control flow from the chamber 63 tothe bag through the passage 71, the casing is provided with a valvechamber 73 with an enlarged threaded portion 74- in which a valve body75 is located having a transverse bore or valve opening 76 so that whensuch bore is in alignment with the passage 71 flow may be through suchpassage and when turned at right angles the flow through such passagewill be stopped. The valve body has a threaded portion 77 which engageswith the threads 74 of the casing and with a knurled manipulating head78.

If desired, the valve body 75 may have an annular groove 79 for thereceipt of gasket ring 80. Thus, by manipulating the valve by means ofthe head 78 the flow to the bag can be controlled permitting thecartridge to be punctured to release the gas and later such gas allowedto go into the bag when desired, it being preferable however to puncturthe cartridge as near the time of use as practicable.

oaeeve In FIG. 10 is disclosed a casing 81 having chambers 82 and 83 forthe bag and for compressed air respectively, and adapted to be admittedthrough a threaded opening 84- in the casing 81 and in which opening aconventional tire valve 35 is adapted to be disposed. The wall 86between the chambers having an enlarged portion 87 with a transversepassage 88 having communication with a tube 89 leading to the threadedsocket 16, a valve chamber 90 being provided in the enlarged portion 87having an enlarged threaded outlet 91 communicating with the exterior ofthe casing and a valve body 92 is provided having a transverse opening93 adapted to be aligned with the opening 83 to permit compressed air toflow therethrough but which may be turned at right angles to obstructthe flow. The valve body 92 having a threaded portion 94 which engagesthe threads 91 in the casing and with a knurled operating head or knob95.

The bag 13 may be provided of an elastic sheet with elastic ribs 13extending from the tube 15 so that such ribs acting somewhat similarlyto the ribs around the top of a socket length when air is introducedthereinto but permitting it to be contracted and drawn back into thecasing when the gas is released therefrom. When the gas is introducedthe bag expands opening the doors of the casing and moving outwardly toform an air-filled buoyant bag which can be used to support anindividual in water. When it is desired to release the air from the bag,it is necessary only to remove the plug which closes the cartridgechamber. Since the used cartridge must be removed and a new cartridgeinserted, the plug may be removed completely to allow rapid release ofthe gas from the inflatable container or the seal around the plug may bebroken by partially removing the plug to permit the gas to escape slowlythrough the threaded openings.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a small relatively simpleinexpensive device is provided which will constitute an instrumentalityfor saving the lives of individuals engaged in various activities nearthe water, with such devices not interfering with their normalactivities but available at all times to provide a float or thenecessary buoyance to maintain their heads above the water for inhalingair so necessary for sustaining life, and that the device can be usedrepeatedly by the provision of the necessary inflating force either inthe form of a small replaceable cartridge which can be had at smallexpenses or by the use of compressed air.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that various changes may bemade in the invention without departing from the spirit and scopethereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which isillustrated in the drawings and described in the specification, but onlyas indicated in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for attachment to the body for providing a readily availableinflatable structure by which a user can remain afloat in water, saiddevice comprising a relatively small casing of a size to be worn on thewrist of the user in the manner of a wrist watch, a strap for removableattaching said casing, said casing having space within the same forprotectively housing a container for compressed fluid and a collapsedfloat-forming thin walled container, a container for compressed fluid,anchoring means for securing said thin walled container within saidcasing, a tubular connection between said container for compressed Afluid and said float-forming container to allow the transfer of thecompressed fluid, said casing having an opening through which saidfloat-forming container can expand when inflated, closure means for saidopening, said closure means being normally biased towards closedposition but movable by said float-forming container to permit theoutward movement of such container, means for releasing compressed fluidfrom said compressed fluid container for inflating said float-formingcontainer, said means comprising a manipulating element on the exteriorof said casing, said manipulating element having a stem, said casinghaving an opening in which said stem is received, a radial flange onsaid stem within said casing, a sealing gasket operatively associatedwith said flange and the inner wall of the casing for sealing theopening around said stem, said flange being adapted to engage saidcontainer for compressed fluid, means for engaging the 0pposite end ofsaid compressed fluid container for maintaining said opening around thestem closed, and a piercing pin adjacent the opposite end of said fluidcontainer for compressed fluid whereby movement of said manipulatingmeans will cause piercing of said compressed fluid container to releaseits contents.

2. A personal inflatable life guard comprising a relatively smallhousing of a size to be worn on the wrist, a wall dividing said housinginto first and second compartments, said first compartment having anopen end and a closure member therefor, a cartridge of compressed gasreceived within said first compartment, a firing pin located within saidfirst compartment in axial alignment with said cartridge, means formoving said cartridge relative to said firing pin, sealing means whichbecome operable for hermetically closing said first compartment asregards said closure member when the gas is released from saidcartridge, an inflatabl container received within said secondcompartment, :a tubular member providing communication between saidfirst and second compartments, and means for connecting said inflatablecontainer to said tubular member to cause said container to be inflatedwhen said cartridge is pierced.

3. The structure of claim 2 in which said means for moving saidcartridge includes a manipulating element having a stern slidablyreceived within said closure member, a radial flange on said stem Withinsaid first compartment, said sealing means comprising a sealing gasketmounted on said flange in operative association with said 5 closuremember for sealing the opening around said stem.

4. The structure of claim 2 including valve means disposed in saidtubular member for selectively controlling the discharge of gas fromsaid first compartment into said container.

5. A personal inflatable lif preserver comprising a relatively smallhousing, wall structure separating said housing into first and secondcompartments,- said first compartment having an open end and a closuremember therefor in which a cartridge of compressed gas is received, afiring pin fixed in said first compartment, means for moving thecartridge relative to said firing pin, means which become operable forhermetically sealing said first compartment about said closur memberwhen the gas is released from the cartridge, said wall structure havinga discharge opening in spaced relation to said open end, an inflatablecontainer received within said second compartment, and means forconnecting said inflatable container to said discharge opening to causesaid container to be inflated when the cartridge is pierced.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,766,182 Markus -]une 24, 1930 1,798,430 Markus Mar. 31, 1931 1,811,847Hellrich June 30, 1931 2,141,799 Pyle Dec. 27, 1938 2,173,567 Sh-aferSept. 19, 1939 2,194,262 Allen Mar. 19, 1940 2,463,641 Podell Mar. 8,1949 2,675,143 Seemann Apr. 13, 1954 2,903,719 Wozencraft Sept. 15, -92,919,833 Wolshin Jan. 5, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 731,584 Great BritainJune 8, 1-955

